Thursday, August 31, 2006

The cashier stopped filing her nails for a moment tolook at the young boy standing across from her.

“This is Customer Service. Exchanges and Returns areback there.” She jerked her thumb in the generaldirection of her left side and quickly returned toher nails.

The boy glanced towards the dimly lit, seemingly emptycorridor, and sighed. He stood unmoving and quiet,staring straight at her with an unwavering gaze, theonly sign of nervousness his shifting arms. A girlstood next to him. No more than 14 years old, she wasclad in a red flowered sundress with her eyes downcast.

“There is no one there, ma’am. This is a matter ofService, anyway,” he said, looking at the girl besidehim.

Putting down the file, the cashier smiled at him andasked him what was wrong with his initial purchase.

“Too young,” he replied.

“An older one will cost more.”

“I know.”

“I’ll be right back,” she told him.

The woman got up from her seat. She unlocked thecubicle door and took the girl by the wrist, pullingher away from the boy and into a back room. The girlturned her head to look at the boy, her eyes raised,silent and empty. But he didn’t notice her.

Free-form thought, written in response to a writing prompt and edited for presentation amongst fellow artists and writers, I consider this poem a reflection of the pain, loneliness and perseverance of all of our human hearts and human souls. The tear is both a painful affliction and healing salt-water, representative of the dual nature of so much in our lives (love-hate, life-death, end-beginning...) and how they beget one another.Change. Continuation. Growth.

A Non-Profit Corporation

Some of you know our story; others have yet to be introduced. If I might just have a few minutes of your time, I would like to tell you just a few things about the theatre and our needs to date.

I founded the children's theatre in the summer of 2004, but could only manage one production. I incorporated Classic Youth Theatre as a non-profit 501(c)(3) in 2005 and produced 4 shows last year; two shows thus far this year with two more productions scheduled before year's end.

The mission of the theatre is to build a tuition free creative environment where the children can come together and explore human character through drama. Intellectually speaking, we have excelled. Two years ago it was simply my theory that the children would connect with such great works of dramatic art as "Cyrano de Bergerac"and "Midsummer Night's Dream", now we know it is a reality.

Originally, we didn't know what types of children would be attracted to the theatre, we didn't know if it would help the children feel more connected to their community and we didn't know if a tuition free theatre was needed. We now know all of these things.

Recently, our local Jr. High School fired its drama director and mothballed its drama department for lack of financial resources. Every child that has been involved in one of our productions has come away with the knowledge that they could accomplish more than they believed they could and most of them enthusiastically remain involved.

70% of the children participating in our productions could never afford the kind of dramatic experience they have gained through participation in Classic Youth Theatre, Inc..

After a long and trying 18 month wait, we have just received our 501(c)(3) certification establishing Classic Youth Theatre, Inc. as a non-profit charitable organization. It is now possible for us to raise money through grants and public funding, but these potential resources won't be realized overnight.

The theatre is in critical need of funding, privately donated money, to get us through the end of the year. Our goal is $120,000 by January 2007.

If you are a patron of the arts, if you support children or education, would you take a moment to browse our web site? Please familiarize yourself with our past accomplishments, the local youth who have benefited from this outstanding grass-roots endeavor, and consider making a donation to help the theater survive.

It would be of great benefit to the hopes and aspirations of these dedicated young people if you would pass their story and this humble request along to others (please cut and paste this e-mail and send it to freinds and loved ones in your address book). With that in mind here's a link to our fundraising page. http://users.adelphia.net/~classicyouththeatre/donations.htm